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Palliative cancer care - cough - Management
How should I manage a person with a cough due to infection?
- Determine with the person, and their carers and family, what management is appropriate for the stage of illness.
- Options are to treat at home or admit for specialist care (e.g. hospital, specialist cancer centre, or hospice). Factors that may help support a decision on whether or not to admit include:
- Whether or not the person can be managed at home.
- The severity of the illness.
- Comorbidities such as an immunocompromised state.
- Whether the person is responding to treatment at home.
- Whether the person requires treatment of an underlying cause (e.g. radiotherapy to a tumour, drainage of a pleural effusion).
- If the decision is made to treat at home, consider treatment with an appropriate antibiotic.
- Discuss with a specialist if there is uncertainty regarding appropriate treatment or place of management.
- Also consider symptomatic treatment (e.g. to enhance the effectiveness of, or suppress, the cough). For more information, see Scenario: Symptomatic treatment.
In depth
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